“Very legit.” I smile wide.
“This means so much to me. To all of us, but to me especially.” He hugs me close again. “Thank you for telling the world how hard we work.”
“You show them that every season. I just stated the facts.” I kiss his jaw.
“Hm.” He pulls away slightly once more and this time, when he kisses me, I feel my toes curl and my entire body ignite. “Let’s go celebrate this.”
“Let’s celebrate.” I squeal when he lifts me into his arms and carries me to the car.
I tighten my arms around his neck and lay against his chest. There’s no one else I’d rather be celebrating with than this man.
Epilogue
3 months later
“How does this work?” My knee won’t quit bouncing. “When will this guy start talking?”
We’re in The Cruzes’ New York penthouse, waiting for Mitch and his agent to finish their meeting. They’ve been with Mitch’s father in his home office for an hour now and I don’t know if my anxiety can handle any more of this waiting.
“Don’t you have something you can smoke to help you calm down?” Jagger asks with a laugh.
“Hilarious. I stopped smoking. I took two Ashwa gummies and they don’t seem to be working.”
“We’re out of wine, so cheese, crackers, salami, and water it is,” Milly Cruz says, walking in with the second charcuterie board of the day. The guys ate everything on the first one.
“Thank you.” I smile, reaching for a cracker and cheese before these guys clear this out as well.
“There’s a leak in the clinic. Thankfully I have someone who can take care of it while we’re here,” Jo says, walking in with a magazine and her phone in hand. “I am so ready for this honeymoon already.”
“Did you book?” Milly asks.
“The plane tickets are booked. The hotels are to be determined. Jagger wants to pick that since he didn’t help me do anything for the wedding.” Jo’s lips twist.
“The wedding was perfect,” Milly says.
“Best pink wedding ever,” I say, smiling.
They had a super intimate wedding last month right here in New York. It was only family and a few friends. I’d always thought Jo would have an elaborate wedding, but it turns out, small weddings are so much better. She wasn’t stressed about anything, and she had so much fun and was so happy. I don’t think I ever want to get married, but if I did, I’d follow in her footsteps. It’s something Mitch and I agree on. We’d rather just live together and not worry about a legally binding contract. Though, now that the cat is out of the bag and everyone knows we’re dating, that’s the number one question everyone asks: when are you getting married?
The doorbell rings and Milly jumps. “That must be your parents.”
My parents, who are also in town this weekend for the occasion. Rocky’s parents are also on their way. Mitch’s draft watch party has somehow become a bigger thing than Jagger and Jo’s entire wedding. Milly says in the past, we would have gone somewhere for the occasion, there would have been a stage and cheers, but Mitch didn’t want to leave anyone behind. He wanted both his brothers and their spouses, and the in-laws, to all be there with him, and so, we ended up here.
Both sets of parents arrive back-to-back and the greetings are loud, to say the least. Mom walks in with a crate of wine, Rocky’s mom walks in with platters of food that smell heavenly and we all jump up to see what’s in them. There’s a cameraman here, provided by the television network, to record us as we watch the actual draft, and even he’s eyeing the food now.
“Patties with coco bread,” Mav shouts. “Best in-laws ever.”
“Save me one,” I shout back.
“Did someone say Jamaican patties?” Mitch asks walking over, huge grin on his face. My heart stops when his eyes meet mine.
“What happened?”
“Turn up the television,” his dad says, voice booming.
I run back to the TV and shakily unmute it, my eyes bouncing between the guy on the screen and Mitchell, who’s all nonchalant, smiling like the freaking Cheshire Cat. There are two men on ESPN talking about Mitch and showing his college highlights, saying he could definitely be in the lineup if the Yankees wanted him to be there right now. Another one responds that he agrees, but that either way it won’t take him very long to get up to the big leagues anyway. Their conversation is cut to another man standing behind a podium.
“With the first pick of the 2021 draft, the New York Yankees select Mitchell Cruz, a pitcher from the University of North Carolina.”
A high-pitched scream echoes through the penthouse, all of us jumping and cheering, and I realize that I’m full-on crying when I turn to Mitchell, who’s hugging his parents before he looks for me and walks over as his brothers jump, patting him on the back. He grabs ahold of my face and wipes my tears with his thumbs as I laugh.